The Queen's pirate
by Charlotte.H.Davis
Summary: A story of romance, betrayal and secrecy that unfolds when the merciless king of the sea is captured by Greece's ruthless Queen in a bloody battle. They must form an alliance to save everyone's lives, including their own. But how can he stand to help the woman who cost him the love of his life? Interactive book /file/314sb7ildaokbg7/The Queen%27s pirate.pdf
1. Chapter 1

**Preview**

The two great oak doors open and my mouth almost fell open at the sight of the room I was revealed too. I didn't know how I had gotten here but I knew it was a throne room. The throne room was completely made of marble, from the ice cold floor to the twelve pillars on either side of the room, leading to the throne itself.

The throne too was made of white marble and upon it sat a beautiful woman, her head held high and blond curls tumbling down on her shoulders, a colour like newly melted gold. She wore a dress of pure white with silver patterns embroidered upon it and a blank cloak. The cloaked pooled at her feet and was pulled far over her forehead, putting all her face into shade apart from her red lips. She seemed familiar but the more I tried thinking about it, the more the thought seemed to slip out of my grasp. I was led to the throne by my two guards, the one on my left shoved me in the shoulder, forcing me to my knees, and my chains clattering as I fell. I crouched there as my guard demanded,

"Bow down to your queen,"

I met the queen's gaze, something I knew not many dared, then bent down until my brow touched the floor. And the queen spoke, her voice like ice,

"Are you aware of the punishment for your crimes, to your kind?"

I looked up and smirked at the queen, not letting my oblivion show as to how I got here. She looked down at me, a face of stone.

"Executions I should think, Penelope."

I said, popping the P but still no emotion, not even a flicker of anger crossed her face.

"That's your highness to you."

She simply said. I snorted,

"You're not my queen."

A cold smile surfaced, revealing some of the wickedness within.

"I am now."

Since when? How long had I been here? I didn't know. When I didn't answer she continued.

"You are a thief and a traitor with no land and no home, pirate. And now..."

She chuckled,

"Now you are mine."

I knew who she was. She was a genius, vicious, witty queen of Greece. Blessed and crowned by Athena herself.

She nodded to the guards and they dragged me to my feet, and out the room, and I knew I only had hours left to live...If I was lucky.

I didn't want to think of the alternative as a scream rang through the hall. The walls themselves seem to cower away.

I was dumped in my cell and left to await my death. The room stank of rot and urine, my roommate sat in shackles, propped up against the wall, nothing more than a skeleton.

As the hour's pass, I wonder how my crew was doing and where they were. Are they in a similar state as I was? I hoped they'd gotten away.

A guard came in with food and seeing my confused expression said,

"The memories will come back to you by the end of the day. Enough time to remember your friends just before your death."

He had been right. Hours later my head felt like it was exploding as all my memories all of a sudden resurfaced.


	2. Chapter 2

TWO WEEKS EARLIER.

I stood proud on the very front of my ship, the ocean an unending bliss before us. I loved standing here, it made me feel like I was walking on water.

"Captain!" Someone shouted excitedly. I looked back and saw Margret, a broad smile on her face and as I walked over. I didn't need to stretch out my arms for balance, hadn't needed to do so since I was a child. I faced my second in command,

"What's the matter, storms ahead?" I pulled out my telescope and scanned the horizon. There was nothing to be seen. But I already knew the answer to my own question, a ship was coming. That was one of the only times Margaret was ever really existed, to the point of being giddy.

"No captain," she continued, "It's a Greek trading vessel."

I looked at her surprised, it had been ages since we last had Greeks cross our path.

"Well then," I said as I walked past her and grabbed a rope, for any stranger the hanging rope might look messy and useless but here, it was the best way to travel, especially in battle. I stepped back and leapt, holding on tight. I landed steadily on the deck, the wood not even cracking under my weight.

"EVERYONE AT THE READY, GREEKS INSIGHT."

No sooner had I finished the command and there were cheers of excitement and lots of clattering as brooms and tools were switched for swords and daggers. Meanwhile, I climbed the mast and stood beside the lookout. Carl nodded in greeting as I looked out at the sea, and indeed, a Greek ship was coming this way.

I heard Margaret giving orders, knowing full well what to do in this situation.

The ship was coming our way, thinking us nothing more than a cargo ship but any moment our disguise would fall. The moment they saw the ship's name and me, standing on lookout they'd flee. After all, everyone knew that if you crossed "the slayer's" path all you could do was run and pray to your Gods that we didn't catch you.

The ship indeed was turning around and I shouted the final command.

"FULL SPEED OARS OUT, AND UP."

"AYE, AYE, CAP."

Came the response and I didn't have to look to Know Leo pulled the lever and the mechanic oars came out. Rowing themselves faster than the winds themselves and we shot forwards, both sails catching the full wind and I smirked.

"Let's kill some Greeks."

I slid down the lookout and stood on the busy deck wHere my crew were pounding their shields out of excitement, weapons from all over the world, axes, spears, arrows, guns. I put on my own armour as I face them. All at the ready.

And then it happened, the very thing that made us feared all across the seas, the stories told over campfires and to children to make them behave, the ship took flight.

The oars turning to propellers as we left the sea beneath us, wings spreading out on either side of the ship. This, this was the ship of the Gods.

We were quickly gaining onto the ship but then I realized my mistake, this wasn't a merchant's ship, it was a commander's ship. As we flew nearer and nearer, one by one a massive fleet took shape, sails as far as the eye could see. The Greeks hadn't stumbled upon us by mistake, this was an attack, in our joy of looting a Greek ship we had looked carefully. But there was nothing we could do but continue the attack.

"PIRATES."

I addressed my crew, assuring all could hear.

"THE GREEKS HAVE BROUGHT AN ARMY TO SLAY US, LET'S SHOW THEM WHAT WE'VE GOT. CANONS AT THE READY!"

No one looked worried, knowing if they died, they would go down fighting and not in dishonour or as cowards. In the end, it is all we have, the honour of our deaths.

"LEO!" I called him over, he handed the wheel to Luke and came over,

"Yes." A mad gleam in his eyes.

"Bring out the Greek fire."

His eyes widened, knowing how dangerous the fire was.

"Let's give' em a taste of their own medicine."

He nodded eagerly and ran off. We were still airborne, flying over the fleet when I gave the command.

"DROP ANKER."

And it did, the anker came down, cries rang out as it crashing on the ship below. The first bang of a cannon was heard, the hull of our ship was hit but it held.

"GO, GO, GO," I commanded my best fighters at the ready. "MAY THE SEA HAVE OUR SOULS."

And I jumped.

I jumped, grabbing the chain of the anker as I fell. I let myself slide down, knowing others did the same behind me. I landed among the chaos of the ship below, hearing different battles going on above and beside us. Ropes had been dropped from our ship and more pirates came down.

I drew my sword, meeting the sword of another. I disarmed him quickly and stabbed him, the sword going through him like butter. I shot a man running towards me on my left, I slashed, stabbed and shot left and right, never hesitating. The battle went on. Ship's exploded around us, someone stood against my back. I didn't know who it was but I hoped it was one of mine.

"It's just me," Margaret clarified.

"Good," I mumbled, at least I hadn't lost another second in command.

She struck her sword out like I did, shooting her gun just as fast as I could. She really was my equal.

We talked as I parried another sword.

"What happens up there?"

She kicked a man in the chest and said,

"Oh, you know the usual, the Slayer shooting down on the fleet below."

I grinned,

"Good."

So we slashed and fought until the deck was layered with blood but I was not afraid, not with Margaret to help me. Suddenly the deck was cleared, the soldiers stopped coming and we stood amongst the dead. My crew looked at me questionably, waiting for the order. Because the fight was not over yet, canons were still to be heard.

"C'mon!" I said as I ran to the mast. I pulled back my sword and slashed the mast as hard as I could, my strength almost failing me. Margaret knew what I was doing and hit the pole as well. Together we hit the mast until it cracked, the mast came thundering down, making a bridge for us to cross to the next ship. And so the battle went on and on and on until I was empty-handed, my gun empty and dropped, my sword stuck in a man's chest. Margaret had run off to kill elsewhere but I still had one more weapon. I walked across a few decks, all the ships had been pulled together with ropes, planks and all other sorts of ways. Some ships were sinking, nothing more than a big piece of wood, I looked around every ship, searching for any familiar faces. It took very long but I looked at every face, if their face were too damaged I only needed to look at their attire, the Greeks had gleaming armour while ours were older but just as strong. I turned over a corpse and looked at the face and almost tumbled back in horror, half his face had been shot off, only his righter cheek remained in tacked, his eyes rolling in their sockets. I recognized the face even if the damage made his once handsome face hardly recognizable. I closed his eye and lay my cloak over him, but such was not the way of my belief. I didn't belong to any country, religion or culture but I stuck to what I believed. I checked for any other faces I knew and found none. I laid down a line of gunpowder from the deck below and grabbed a burning piece of wood. I dumped the rest of the gunpowder and jumped to the next ship. I cut the ropes connecting the two ships together and threw the burning torch, lighting the line. The ship was already sinking when it blew up, I watched it all while whispering a prayer.

"May the ocean lull you to a peaceful sleep, may your soul drift out and find home, may you find your desires, may you move on from this world and find a new one."

I hadn't even known him that well, he had joined us last year, simply looking for an escape from his father and his responsibilities, promising to return a stronger man. A better one. One who knew of honour and bravery. In the meantime, he had found love and was going to marry her next spring.

"Thank you," I ended the prayer, "Thank you, Beckendorf, good luck."

The ship still burned as it sunk and disappeared into the still ocean. I turned away, walking on the empty deck, realizing something was wrong a moment too late. A trap door opened underneath me and I landed on my feet in the deck below, it was pitch dark so felt for my surroundings, I couldn't feel the walls so at least it wasn't a small room. Suddenly the lights came on, a hundred candles all at once and my heart stopped at what I saw. A hooded figure sat on a chair before me, her blood red mouth the only thing visible beneath the hood. She smirked,

"You are enslaved in the name of Athena, Goddess of wisdom, patron Goddess of Athens and your crew will we spared if and when you surrender."

Penelope.

The Queen of Greece. The last time I had seen her she had been nothing more than a princess, a girl. Not anymore.

Two men put a pair of shackles on my wrist and I didn't struggle against them.

"Oh you have made a big mistake," I warned the Queen, "Capturing a son of the ocean in his home, where he's strongest."

I dug inside myself, dragging out that raw power, so hard to control and keep at bay. I called up the ocean around me, the shackles glowed blue and then stopped.

The Queen laughed,

"Did you really believe I would be so stupid not to be prepared? I know a son of Poseidon when I see one."

I bared my teeth at her.

"You will get what's coming to you, bitch."

"That may be, but first, surrender."

I laughed,

"You underestimate me, there is no way you captured my crew."

She snapped her finger and a figure was thrown at me. It was Margaret.

She looked up at me, her face scarred and bruised, her mouth gagged and hands tied behind her back. And for the first time in the ten years I have known her, there was fear in her eyes.

"Let. Her. Go."

I commanded the Queen, not taking my eyes off Margaret when a familiar voice laughed. I looked at the direction where it came from, not believing it to be true but there he was. There he stood, arms crossed and leaning against the wall.

"Hello, Percy."

He said, pushing himself off the wall.

"How could you!" I screamed and Margaret started quietly sobbing. "Easily," he continued, "or did you forget it was me who suggested sailing out there, you listened without question. Didn't doubt it a second. And so we set sail right in the waiting arms of the Greeks." He smirked, pleased with himself.

"I trusted you, Luke. How could you?"

His smirk fell and he marched over to me, his face an inch from mine. "You. You stole everything that was mine, that's what made it so easy. You killed my brother and then you became captain. When it should have been ME. I was the second in command. I was to be Captain but you stole that from me."

I went quiet, I still woke in the night screaming, and hearing Travis's scream ringing I'm my ears and feeling his blood on my hands. I cast my eyes to the ground, Luke sneered and simply walked away, standing next to the Queen's chair. I looked back at Margaret, and what I saw scared me. It wasn't the fear in those big blue eyes but the determination and apology.

I knew what she was going to do and shook my head.

No, No, NO!

"You can't do this, please."

The Queen thought I was still addressing her but Margaret understood.

She moved so suddenly I didn't see her coming until her lips were on mine, she kissed me softly, a tear falling down her cheek as she pulled back. I put my still shackled hands on either side of her face and kissed her on the forehead and let go, whispering the prayer,

"May the ocean lull you to a peaceful sleep",

She joined me in the prayer.

"May your soul drift out and find home,"

We spoke the words together, while the Queen watched silently, trying to understand what was coming, she clearly hadn't known who Margaret was, hadn't even bothered to learn her name.

"May you find your desires, may you move on from this world and find a new one."

We finished the prayer and she smiled lightly, her skin already starting to glow.

The Queen understood then who she was, what she was.

"STOP HER, KILL HER."

But it was too late, the soldiers approached her only to stumble back when they saw her eyes. Those beautiful eyes turned into a burned red. A promise of death. There she was, the true monster that lurked underneath her pretty skin.

The last of her kind.

A daughter of hell.

Moulted of the fires of Tartarus themselves.

A Hell child.

Luke had disappeared, he'd probably run the moment he realized what was happening. Margaret looked me in the eyes but I was not afraid. She did it to save us, to save me. A weapon born of evil had become a weapon for good. I kissed her once more,

"Bye, Margaret, I will never forget you."

I said then got to my feet turned around and ran, the Queen shouted orders but the soldiers were too afraid to move, too follow orders. I ran and ran, shouting.

"GET OUT! GET OUT! HELL CHILD, HELL CHILD, C'MON."

I screamed it over and over again and anyone who heard it ran, enemy and friend alike. They dropped their weapons and ran. All my crew who had heard ran after me, I grabbed the Anker's chain and yanked it once, twice, trice, and waiting ten seconds between every pull. Leo had understood the code and pulled up the Anker, all of us held on tight and climbed up as we were lifted. Ropes fell down around us and other crew members grabbed them tight without question. The only time we ever retreated was when mass murder was about to take place. I left it to my crew to decide whether or to help the enemy. I saw a few Greeks grab ropes and climb up, not caring that we were the enemy. Margaret had once given me instructions on what to do if it ever came down to this. I had never thought it to ever really happen.

When all the ropes had come up I counted my crew. At least twenty were dead, some were wounded and others were supported by their mates.

Will went round with a medical kit, helping who he could. Selena ran around asking if anyone had seen Charles.

"Hey, Perc, where's Charles, he was with you wasn't he."

"Selena..." I said, not sure what to say, but she understood.

"No, no it can't be. Please. Please tell me he's okay."

She started crying, heartbroken sobs burst out of her and she fell to the deck on her knees.

"Please... Please."

She mumbled, praying it over and over again.

"I'm so sorry," I said and made to comfort her but she pulled away. Clarisse came over and pulled Selena into her arms rocking her backwards and forwards as she silently sobbed.

"Beckendorf," someone said,

"Michael," said another.

"Dean," another joined.

"Drew,"

"Lilly,"

"Sam,"

"James,"

"Scott"

And so the prayer went on, the names of all the dead, spoken one by one as we flew away. And then it happened, the entire fleet blew up, Margaret had exploded, burning herself up and everything around her, a blast that shook the world, even the Slayer's wood groaned, feeling the blast.

"Margaret."

I said finally, silence followed, all the dead had been named. And then Selena stopped crying and started singing, her voice sweet but haunting.

"May the ocean lull you to a peaceful sleep,"

Others joined her, looking at remains of the fleet,

"May your soul drift out and find home,"

All of us were now singing,

"may you find your desires, may you move on from this world and find a new one."

We finished the prayer as we left the battle behind us.

"Thank you, thank you Margaret and good luck."

I whispered as silent tears slid down my cheek, the only emotion I could show. Even if it rot inside of me, I could never let it show.

 **And there you have it, chapter one. With an interactive ebook option if you like. file:/C:/Users/charlotte.h/Downloads/The%20Queen's%20pirate%20(1).pdf. Copy link to access and as always enjoy.**


	3. Chapter 3

My heart felt like it would burst out of my chest, I always knew, always knew this would be the payment for a life of adventure and excitement, the price for giving up the crown.

I was next, the one in front of me had screamed and pleaded but the noose went around his neck and in a split second, he was dead. They dragged the body away and dumped it in a pile on a cart with the others.

I marched the rest of the way, head held high, determent to go down with dignity, I'd escaped death many times I guess it had finally caught up with me.

The Noose went around my neck and I breathed deeply, my life didn't flash before my eyes but I thought of Margaret, determined to let her face be the last thing I saw. I saw the executioner's hand on the lever, death was close. I closed my eyes and blocked out all the noise of the crowd around me. I thought of how she laughed, how we'd danced on deck grinning as we slashed and docked each other's swords. My equal. My love. My everything. I let all the memories I had buried deep flow freely through me as I spoke my last words,

"I love you, Margaret,"

And the platform fell from under me.

I had fallen hard but now I was dead so I suppose it didn't matter. I opened my eyes and realized I wasn't dead. I was on the horse. A horse that whinnied in shock and galloped away, I recovered quickly and grabbed for the stirrups, but my hands were still chained behind my back, I spoke into his mind to calm him down before we ran into something.

Once I calmed him down I had the chance to look around me, I was alive. I'd been saved. Around me, guns were being fired, my crew has come to save me. A huge dragon rose up, people screamed and scattered in fright. Frank, as a dragon, breathed fire, distract everyone's attention as Hazel, Piper, and Leo freed the prisoners that were to be executed. Some of the prisoners may have committed crimes but no one deserved a punishment like that, except for me maybe. I looked back to the gallows and saw that someone had cut the rope I was supposed to have hung from.

Smart, I thought.

I looked around again but Nico and Jason were nowhere to be found, I jumped, brought my shackles under my legs and up to my front. Just as I was about to run towards the others someone grabbed my shoulder, I whirled, bringing my fists up and saw Nico standing there, he didn't say anything, he simply ran off and motioned me to follow, he mounted a horse and sped off. I mounted mine and galloped after him, the shackles making it hard to keep hold. But I followed in close and we galloped through the streets of the city when Nico suddenly stopped, raining in his horse,

"This way!" He shouted and kicked his horse as he made a sharp turn down a little ally, we came out on the marketplace and continued on. We galloped through the market street, people ran to get out of our way, mothers grabbed their children close, goods were scattered across the street. A cart was parked in front of us, there was no way we could stop in time.

"C'mon boy," I told my horse and he whinnied in understanding,

'Yes, son of the Lord,' he said in my mind and we jumped,

People gawked as the horse jumped two meters high and landed flawlessly on the other side. I drove him into a gallop again, hoping Nico was following. Nico knew where to go, how was I going to find my way? But he just materialized in the shadow in front of me and led me through the maze that was the city. We turned into another street but there was someone waiting for us, a figure is a red cloak, we stopped and turned our horses around towards the way we had come was but that exit blocked off, they were coming out of the shadows, at least ten of them were surrounding us.

Nico swore,

"Shit, we're surrounded,"

that seemed quite obvious to me too.

I reached into my pocket to pull out my sword but it wasn't there, the shackles weren't just stopping my magic but any kind of magic.

One of the figures stepped forward,

"Not so tough now," She snorted.

"Is that….Is that her?" I spluttered out, the Queen was here, in the back of an ally?

Nico looked at me confused,

"No, I told you, she's…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as another figure stepped forwards.

"What are you going to do now? Any more rescue mission?"

She said mockingly, the same voice as the previous speaker, I growled at her as she approached. What was going on? Who were they?

They were circling us now, all ten of them coming in closer, two brought their swords to the horse's leg, daring us to run.

From the shadows, another cloaked stepped forwards,

"Looks like you fell for my little trick." She laughed, those cruel lips turning up into a sneer. We were dragged from our horses and forced to our knees, a sword brought to our necks.

"What is going on!" I demanded, the sword on my neck pressed deeper in warning, drawing blood.

She laughed again,

"You still don't understand do you?" She mocked me as Nico looked at me horrified.

"I'm the Queen," she declared, "You've only met me once, all the others, they're copies, spies to do my dirty work. The 'Queen' on that ship, she's dead, her sister Rachel was the one who you met in the port."

Understanding dawned on me as she spoke,

"Your lover," she continued, spitting the word, "died for nothing, nothing more than a fake Queen in a trap you got them into. How does it feel, huh? To know they're all dead because of YOU."

My fault, my fault, it was all my fault, my fault, my fault. I didn't want her to be right but she was, it was my fault Margaret had to fight but not my fault she was dead. But Margaret hadn't died in vain. She'd saved all our lives and I wasn't giving mine up for the world.

"You're wrong," I said, looking her straight in the eyes. "She died saving us, she made the greatest sacrifice to save me so it's gonna take a whole lot of effort to kill me because now she lives." I grinned at her, a vicious wild grin,

"Now she lives on in me."

I stood, ignoring the sword at my throat, the wielder looked around uncertain, not sure what to do.

"As long as I live, my crew and many others who remember her, she will live. Because we will always remember. The girl who had nothing but gave everything. Margaret. My Margaret."

The Queen did nothing but stand there, her face reddening in fury while her spies and minions looked around uncertain.

"Kill him." She ordered simply, for a moment nothing happens, then the sword went up behind the spies head, I watched as it went higher and higher and just as if came down someone stepped forward,

"Stop!"

The sword stopped a hair's breath away from my neck, I looked up at the newly arrived figure as she pulled down her hood. Her golden hair flapping in the wind as her eyes turned to her copy. This was the real Queen, no question. Which meant...

The others realized it too, they'd been given orders by a fake, their own trick used against them.

But the fake Queen pulled down her hood and she looked identical to the other one. The newcomer's face fell, clearly, she hadn't expected this. I couldn't tell, I really couldn't tell which one was the imposter and which one was the real one. Maybe they were both fakes. Heck, they might even both be the real one. My head hurt with all this confusion.

"Imposter!" The Queen who wanted me dead screamed, the other hooded figures were confused before, but now they were completely lost. Nico looked at the two in surprise and confusion.

This really was getting ridiculous but no-one was laughing. The others froze in place, while the newcomer thought of what to do, her stormy grey eyes seem to brighten like a star, I looked away, afraid I'd never been able to look away ever again. Then I noticed the difference, the other Queen's eyes were bluer, still grey but less vicious and calculating, less relentless and warmer. The real Queen had saved my life. Why? Before I could ponder it any longer she spoke.

"Fine, a test," She glared at her copy. "Of things only the true Queen could know."

The two started circling each other like wolves, waiting for who would falter first, ready to pounce.

"I've known you since I was five," said the copy,

"Likewise," the original purred,

"How is Hecate's magic working for you?" The real Queen continued.

The copy didn't let anything show,

"I gave up magic four years ago,"

"So did I," the Queen said, sickeningly sweet.

"But we both know I was always the better one."

Her copy growled, a mistake I realized, the real Queen wasn't testing her copy, she was trying to get her angry, to reveal her viciousness.

"Don't believe me?" She continued, circling her copy when she froze in anger,

"You know I was always better at everything. You were so jealous, always throwing temper tantrums." She said in fake sympathy, I couldn't help but grin, she was smart and dangerous, I tried to shake off the feeling but she was fighting for what she loved, she was fighting for all she had, she was fighting for her country.

"Though I must admit, nice disguise," She laughed, "didn't see that coming, not bad for a daughter of Aphrodite,"

Daughter of Aphrodite, the Queen was ridding her of her credibility. There were so many demigods in Greece, what were they all doing here? OK, stupid question, it was Greece but demigods were rare and powerful, I couldn't help but feel this wasn't a coincidence, a daughter of Athena, a son of Poseidon and a daughter of Aphrodite brought together, all enemies, but perhaps I could change that. The fates had brought us together and I was afraid, oh, so afraid what they had in store for us.

Suddenly a blast of magic erupted from the fake Queen's hand but the real, true Queen was ready and lifted a shield of magic, a purple mist that swirled as it was wielded, she struck again and the Queen rolled and shot her copy, she deflected it but staggered. The earth shook as they fought, the Queen rose from where she sat crouched on the floor, she approached the traitor but suddenly her copy looked up, fire in her eyes and shot at the Queen. The Queen didn't have time to deflect, it hit her in the chest and she seemed to absorb the ball of magic. She collapsed but stood up quickly, holding her hand to her head as if she had a headache, and swayed on her feet. I looked at her in shock, she'd changed, her hair was dark like midnight and her face looked completely different, her eyes were closer together and her nose smaller, the eyes stayed the same, clearly, the magic didn't work well on the eyes.

"See!" Said the other one, pointing an accusing finger at, "She's a fake. Seize her!"

The others approached the real Queen and grabbed her by the arms, she struggled against their grasp but they held her still.

"I curse you!" The Queen said, facing her foe, "I curse you with Athena's curse and it shall stay with you until all is set right or until your death free this world from your grasp!"

The copy looked afraid. While I had never heard of Athena's curse, she clearly had and feared it.

"I execute you in the name of Greece."

She said, threatening, thrusting out her finger.

Time to go.

The Queen stood close enough to me, maybe, just maybe this could work...

'Come.' I whispered in my mind, beckoning him to me. Come. I thought again, directing the thought straight to his mind, I felt his presence already, I felt him answer my call,

'On my way, Boss,'

The Queen's copy's face fell as she noticed Nico wasn't there any longer, she roared in outrage and growled at me,

"Oops," I said not so apologetically,

"FIND HIM. GET HIM. NOW!" She commanded and a few hooded figures ran off and disappeared into the shadows without a sound. I couldn't help but smirk at our small victory,

"Not so smug, pirate!" She spat at me, I continued to smirk but truthfully, I didn't get what was going on, but I really hoped I was right on who was the real queen. Or else we would be in all sorts of trouble.

A neighing echoed through the street as blackjack came galloping in, he came to a stop right in front of me and the fake Queen blasted him with her magic but it bounced right of an invisible shield, the shield rippled as the blast hit but held.

I ignored blackjack's new defence feature and jumped on, Blackjack knocked the Queen's restrainers out of the way and I pulled the Queen up, around us the hooded figures were running in for an attack. As soon as The Queen got on Blackjack's back the magic disappeared, her face turning back to normal. Blackjack knocked out some of our attackers but it was a fight we couldn't win, my sword still hadn't appeared in my pocket.

"Up!" I cried and Blackjack took to the skies, we flew high, the clouds like wool beneath our feet, the Queen, however, was not thrilled. She squeezed me really hard and seem to pray to Athena and say 'Di immortals' an awful lot while trying hard not to look down.

The Queen almost fell off the horse when Jason suddenly appeared beside us, flying effortlessly,

"Hey, Jason, what's there to report?"

He looked a bit puzzled at the Queen being there, but answered,

"We got them all, the criminals marked,"

"Marked!" The Queen said horrified, Jason looked at us unsure but answered,

"It's what we do to the criminals we free, we mark them so they don't commit any more crimes, if they do, they appear aboard our ship and we hand them into the closest form of authority, it's an ancient and dangerous magic of the underworld, gifted to us from Hades himself."

The Queen shuddered at the mention of the dark god,

"Why?" She asked shocked, forgetting her fear of heights, "Why bother, you're...Pirates."

Jason snorted and looked at her in disgust,

"Of course," he said under his breath.

"That's what people like you are supposed to think," I told her angrily, she looked at me angrily and offended.

"People like me!" She said, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Rulers." I said bitterly, "People with too much power."

The Queen was about to protest and Jason looked really nervous about all the information being exchanged but I continued on.

"How do you think my crew hadn't got caught yet? We've saved the lives that you never cared for." She looked like she wanted to argue with me but instead, she simply mumbled,

"It's gotten."

"What?" I asked, still angry.

"It's not 'hadn't got caught yet,' it's 'hadn't gotten caught yet."

She said confidently, I looked at her incredulously and she nodded understanding, in an 'I'll shut up now,' kind of way.

Jason raced in front of us and spoke, I felt like slapping myself, putting annoying princesses before my crew. Margaret made me feel like that when she smiled like the rest of the world didn't matter, Margaret, Margaret was dead, she's dead. I saw her face flash before my eyes as those words rung through my head.

"Percy," Jason said, bringing me back to the present, I didn't like it, I wanted to go back, back to when I saw her laugh and when I laughed with her.

"Percy!" Jason said, demanding my attention, but how could I answer, it didn't matter. I vaguely processed him mumbling a sorry before a blast struck me in the chest, pulling me back to reality, the Queen was looking at me with an expression of curiosity, relief, and horror.

"Thanks, man. What did you say?" I said and shook my head, Jason still looked at me with an expression of worry and apology but repeated his words,

"We're ready."

I nodded my thanks and he flew off, the Queen still looking at me intently, like I was a puzzle for figuring out and she was missing a piece.

"What?" I demanded, annoyed.

"What was that?" She exclaimed, horrified, "Does your grew often hit you with their magic when you space out?"

I thought for a moment about telling her but decided against it,

"He knows me," I said, "I go into shock sometimes, it's, uh, it is the only way to get me out of it. It doesn't hurt."

Realising the conversation was closed she stayed quiet.

After about a minute Jason returned,

"Let's go!" He said and I commanded Blackjack to drop which he did quite literally, one moment we were flying above the clouds and the next we were plummeting to our deaths. I loved it. Penelope didn't.

She screamed as we spiralled down but then laughed as she felt her heartbeat race and her hair flap in the wind, I couldn't help but smile.

But all laughter died once we landed on my ship, they'd sailed her out far enough so they were out of reach.

Blackjack whinnied as we dismounted him,

'Apples!'

He said in my mind and I laughed,

"Here you go, mate," and gave him an apple from one of the fruit baskets on deck. He munched it happily then flew off,

'Thanks, boss!' He said and I watched him until he was nothing but a dot in the sky then turned to my crew.

They all stood on deck, ready to fight as they eyed the Queen, funny how things changed, the wolf became the deer. But she held her ground and kept her head high.

"What do we do with her?"

Leo asked, coming up next to me and I faced my crew.

"Her kingdom was stolen from her, she's been trailed with execution in her own land."

"Oh good," Leo said in relief, "I was really worried we had another runaway royal."

I shot him a bored look but I was grateful for the joke, it broke much of the tension.

"Council meeting in 10," I said and my crew got back to work, amongst them I saw Nico, Hazel, Piper, and Frank. I signed in relief, good, they were alright, noticing my tied hands Leo came over and picked the lock open for me,

"Thanks, dude," I said and he nodded,

"No problem," and walked away.

I turned away too and walked off,

"Come with me,"

I told the Queen when I reached the stairs. She hadn't said a word since we arrived but followed me, not very willingly as we descended the stairs and went to the council room. I opened the door, glad to be in a familiar place, the room was very basic but practical, completely made of polished wood with windows in the back, looking out to the sea as we sailed. Most of the room was filled with a large table, the table had twelve seats for every head cabin for the twelve Gods but there was a gap, right at the end of the table, there was nothing but a scratch mark on the table, the only indication she had ever sat there, my cousin Thalia. She'd scratched her dagger right across the table on her first day as head counsellor. Travis had been horrified but the mark was never removed, not when Travis was captain and not when I was. I ran my fingers over the mark as I walked to the end of the table and sat in my own seat at the head of the table. I gestured to a bench against the wall, she sat on the edge, ready to jump up if need be. She thought to herself for a second then asked the question that seemed to bother both of us.


	4. Chapter 4

"Why?" I didn't say anything so she continued, a storm in her eyes, "Why save me?"

"No reason," I said and it was true, I had no reason to help her, none at all. Why was I doing this!

"Ok, Penelope," I said, "Tell me what happened, I wanna hear your side if the story."

"Well," She said, playing with the bracelet around her wrist, twisting it around without realizing it.

"We spent months trying to pin you down, to follow your course, we finally pinned you down, it was my chance to get you so I sent half my navy after you. Alice was sent to play me, nothing more than a simple voice trick, easy magic. All my copies faces were covered and if you would take off the veil there would be nothing but a blank sheet so their real faces couldn't be seen, there is no face other than the bottom half, it's a handy magic trick."

I snorted at that and she grinned but continued solemnly,

"But then everything went wrong. She was given the order to wait, the fleet was to scare you, nothing more. She would bring you to me and I would take care of it. But then you attacked, 50 men, wiped out hundreds in a matter of hours. Alice was dead and you were free but we knew the only way you could go was over Athena because you were returning home so as soon as you were sighted we pulled you down. But Rachel, Alice's sister was too proud, she was given Alice's position because Alice hadn't yet fulfilled her duty and loyalty to me. I thought she wasn't good enough but it turns out she was capable of a lot more…

Nico found out, he escaped and found out about my copies and ran back to tell you, it's protocol to wipe our prisoner's mind but I didn't want to kill you. I did when I sent out the navy after you but I thought there would be a better use for you so I put you in a cell, figuring out what to do but Rachel got involved so you never knew about the trick but that's too small, there must be something else you figured out. I...I don't know, it must have been important." She's gotten up and started pacing the room, lost in thought, speaking more to herself than anything else.

"Why did you want me? What for?"

Penelope wiped her face towards me,

"Because I thought the world would be better without 50 bloodthirsty pirates. And I needed you. I thought I could make you serve under me. And..." She stopped herself, "Yeah, that's basically it."

There was something she was hiding. But was it good or bad? She'd built quite a good reputation for herself. She must be up to something.

"OK, I'll help," I said, thoughtfully and Penelope turned to me as if she'd only just seen me.

"Come with us. You want your kingdom back, I'll help," she looked at me, astonished.

"But," I said, getting up from my seat, "It's not up to me, we'll have a vote and decide together, and I can't trust you yet" I finished and opened the door wide, as I predicted, three people stumbled forward shouting and gasping. Penelope laughed from where she stood.

"Aw! Not nice, dude," Leo complained as he got up and rubbed a sore spot on his head where it had collided with the floor.

I just smirked and took my seat again,

"Get the rest, please," I told Magnus, he nodded and ran out the door and five minutes later we were all assembled, sitting in our places, eating apples.

"Right," Clarisse said, her feet propped up on the table as she carved into an apple, "Why should we give this chick a free ride? We don't owe her anything."

"Yes," Hazel agreed, "She could be dangerous."

"Yes," Leo said, "How do we know she isn't another copy!"

Around the table many of my crew shouted their agreement and shouted arguments at each other but everyone fell silent when Penelope spoke, she didn't shout, she just seemed to speak to everyone like a wave.

"She," Penelope said, "Has nothing to gain by hurting you, she just wants to get her country back and," she said, stretching the word, "Were you to assist her, she would reward you all greatly."

The room fell silent as she finished and I said,

"How can we trust you?" I didn't mean it as an insult but I was worried, I hoped she realized that too.

"I swear it," she said casually, shrugging, "on the river Styx."

She didn't say the name in fear or respect but as a challenge to anyone who dares doubt her.

"Then the curse is to be yours and yours alone," I said,

"I think we should help her," I continued, addressing my crew, "I think we should assist her to fight for the throne, what do you think?"

Penelope clearly wasn't happy with this democracy, once a Queen, always a Queen.

"I think we should." Said Will, chewing his apple, "Everyone deserves a home and help."

"Aye," said Leo as he juggled three apples, "But first we will need permission from the Queen. Our Queen."

"Agreed," Frank said, "but first we must consult the Gods."

I nodded in agreement,

"All in favour say, Aye!" I stated. After a moment of hesitation, Ayes rang round the table but Reyna stood and slammed her hand down on the table,

"NO," she declared, "She is the reason we were attacked, she is the reason our friends are dead. Percy," she said outraged, "How could you? Because of that bitch, Margaret is dead."

I felt the words like a blow but it no longer shut me down but woke me up and instantly I made my decision. I had a purpose now, I was going to get the Queen her throne back.

"REYNA," Jason bellowed, "STAND DOWN!"

Reyna bared her teeth at him, but before everything could go to hell, I spoke.

"This is why I am doing this. Margaret is dead because we attacked the Greeks, they killed 12 of ours but we killed hundreds of them. So now I am giving them their Queen back as an apology, we're pirates but we save lives so that's what we are going to do. We are going to pay back for their deaths as well as we can. We killed brothers, fathers, and sons and a sister."

I looked Penelope in the eyes and saw her eyes brimmed with tears and spoke to her directly.

"I'm sorry,"

Reyna slowly sat down and faced the Queen,

"Aye." She said, not sounding very pleased about it, "I will stand with you, daughter of Athena."

Penelope nodded her thanks,

"Right then," I said as I took out a map from among the many others stuffed in cupboards.

"Where do we go now, princess?"

I spread out the map before me, all of the known world laid out before me.

She grinned ferally and we got to work.

"And so," Penelope said, moving a little model ship representing the Slayer across the map,

"We win back my crown,"

I grinned at her, she really was smart and intriguing to listen to.

"Sounds brilliant," I said and her grin grew even wider,

"OK." I addressed the rest of my crew, "back to work everyone."

One after the other they all left until it was just Penelope and Percy in the room.

"OK, Now what?" Penelope asked and I got up from my seat,

"Let's see what you've got."

She looked at me curiously but followed when I left the room and went to the training room, on our way we passed the cabins but I walked on.

"When the crew isn't working they are free to do whatever they want, training, reading, socializing, anything you like."

Penelope looked around, touching the gleaming swords and looked at the sharp daggers.

"Did any fighting, princess?" I asked as I uncapped my pen with a skunk the blade came out, Penelope undid her cloak, letting it drop to the floor and she looked at the stacks of weapons and grabbed a spear. She inspected the weapon and walked to the mat in the centre of the room, I joined her and she held the spear across her chest, legs apart, ready to fight.

"C'mon then," She said and I smirked and got into my fighting stance, only two meters between us.

She came hard and fast, swinging the staff from left to right, crossing the distance between us in one leap, I parried back and she attacked again, slamming the staff down on my foot. I gritted my teeth in pain and attacked her left but she was ready and stuck the staff between herself and the sword. While she was distracted I spun my sword around to her right but she jumped back just in time. She struck and I parried, I struck back and she ducked, she hit my sword hand hard, making me drop riptide as the butt of the staff connected with my chest, sending me flying back. I flew back, hitting the ground hard but I was still on the mat and felt riptide reappear in my pocket. Penelope stood there, waiting for me to get up,

Okay, new tactic.

I stood and approached her, ready for her.

"You don't seem so surprised that my sword comes from a pen and reappears in my pocket."

I said, twirling my sword, she just smiled and attacked,

"I've seen it all before," she said as I parried her attack to my leg, she stepped back and attacked again,

"It's Riptide, the sword of Hercules," she said and I attacked but she parried with the staff,

"I am Greek you know," she finished as she attacked, sweat dripping down her brow, I swung aside her attack and brought my sword down on her staff, snapping it cleanly in two,

"So am I," I said as she stared at the broken pieces in her hand but she recovered quickly and brought the two pieces together to block the attack.

"If you're going to join us," I said as she parried again, "You're going to need a better name, more... Well, I don't know," her two pieces swirled over my head as I ducked,

"Less Greek," I finished my thought,

she snorted as she stuck a piece between my feet to trip me. I jumped back in time and she spoke,

"Like Perseus isn't a Greek name." I faltered and she struck me on my left but I spun, dogging the strike,

"How do you know that?"

Penelope rolled her eyes and thrust her longest piece forward,

"Percy, short for Perseus, the Greek demigod, duh."

I grinned as I parried her shot,

"Of course, smart ass."

She panted as she jumped back and said,

"Why should I have a new name when yours is as Greek as could be?"

She was stalling,

"I have another name," I answered as we struck and parried again.

"But you need one too," I told her and she aimed her stick at my side and as I slashed my sword at her but she was ready. she spun and trapped my sword between her two sticks and twisted, sending my sword flying out of my hand and up into the air, she caught it easily. Meanwhile, she swept her feet under mine, it all happens so fast I barely had time to process what had happened. I lay on my back as she brought my sword to my neck, panting heavily. I propped myself up on my elbows and looked her in the eyes and she smirked,

"Annabeth," she said, "Annabeth Chase,"

I smiled up at her, Annabeth. It suited her,

"I like it," I said truthfully and she thrust out her hand, I accepted her hand and shook it,

"Nice to meet you, Chase."

She smiled and shook it back and pulled me to my feet.

"Likewise," she said as we went back to training but what I didn't see was the figure in the shadows, she'd walked in to ask me whether we could train together only to find me fighting with the Queen, too lost in her eyes to notice her standing in the doorway. Reyna sighed to herself, love had abandoned her again and not left her intact.

 **Sorry for the long absence so there you have it, two in a day. I'll be posting** everyday **or every other day from now on.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Percy!" she screamed as they pulled her away, she kicked and trashed but they wouldn't let her go. "Let her go!" I bellowed, refusing to lose her. I tried to break free from the tight grip the king's men had me in but I couldn't. "Margaret!" I shouted again when suddenly the scene changed, I was back on the Greek's ship, watching Margaret's eyes change to that hell red colour. Then she smiled, but it wasn't Margaret's smile, it was the smile of the monster she'd spend her whole life trying to contain, then everything exploded in red light.

I woke up panting, the nightmare pulling me from my slumber in the middle of the night. I fell back into my pillow with a sigh of defeat, just like I had done yesterday and the day before that and ever since I can remember. Lately, the same nightmare just keeps repeating itself, I could still hear her voice echoing in my head. I knew it was pointless to go back to sleep so I pulled the covers off of me and left my cabin. Some days being the only one in my cabin got lonely but most of the time I appreciated the lack of people to witness my traumatizing nights. I wasn't thinking straight so I let my feet decide where to go. Soon I found myself stooling the empty deck, where the only thing breaking the silence was the sounds of the water. The moon was a bright light in the cloudless sky, making the water glitter like the most magnificent of diamonds. We were just sailing near Italy having left Greece behind us two weeks ago, our next destination was coming closer. I leaned over the railing, watching the stillness of the water and the rippling reflection of the moon. I clutched the bottle I hadn't even noticed taking tight in my hand. I was so sick of the pain, so sick of hearing Margaret's voice in my head, those eyes, and her scream. Just a couple of chugs and it would all go away, all the pain, all the memories just washed away, even if only for a couple of hours. I brought the bottle to my lips with shaking hands but I couldn't stop thinking of Margaret and I couldn't take a swig. I'd stood right here before, a bottle in my hands, only then it had been half empty. It felt like an entire lifetime ago, and in a way, it was. I'd stood on deck, drunk, trying to forget Travis, trying to forget my mom and every other person I had ever lost. I'd brought the bottle to my lips again when a hand on my arm stopped me. I'd looked at me and seen Margaret smiling sadly up at me.

"Hey," she'd said, "I know it hurts but this isn't an answer, you need to let yourself heal properly, no bottle will help you do that."

After that, she'd taken the bottle out of my hand once it was clear I wasn't taking another chug and threw it overboard.

"Now it can't hurt you anymore, it no longer has any power over you," she'd whispered, even though there was no else to hear it.

We'd then spend the rest of the evening talking, talking about our lives, our wonders and our pains, losses and our gains. Once there was nothing else to talk about and our eyes were slowing closing because of lack of sleep we sat in silence, her head resting on my shoulder and watched the sunrise. And at that moment an unspoken promise was forged between us, we'd be there for each other. Always, even when we didn't need it, through the bad and the good. As I thought of Margaret I couldn't drink, couldn't so just like every night when the temptation became too great, I clutched the bottle in my hand and threw it as far as I could. I watched it as it flew over the waves and landed with a silent plop. I bit my lip to keep from screaming, my hands gripping the railing so hard it made the wood groan. I panted heavily, trying to keep in my scream.

I couldn't do it anymore, couldn't keep going on like this, bottling all those feelings up inside. I would explode. But there was no other option.

I swayed where I stood, watching the endless ocean until the sun rose up behind me.

I stood there for I don't know how long until I heard the morning bell ring three times and I left the deck, a new smile on my face.

I entered the dining room and watched as everyone else filed into the room, wiping their sleepy eyes and greeting each other. In a few minutes, the entire length of the hall was filled up with people talking and laughing, some greeted me but I knew nobody was going to sit next to me. I sat in my usual spot, just of the centre of the room at Poseidon's table. Every God had their own table dedicated to them and where their children and sat. There were 14 demigods aboard in total, Greek and Roman demigod's alike. All the others took test and trails to see which God they belonged to best and were then seated at that table. Every God had its own strengths, weaknesses and abilities which the child must meet or come close to if they wanted to join that table. The big three, however where an exception and only one was allowed per table, which meant I ate alone at my table, but rules were rules, not even the Captain can change the traditions of this ship.

I hadn't notice Penelope, or rather, Annabeth enter until she was walking right towards me. It still took me some getting used to, her new name. I'd hear so much about Penelope of Greece since her birth, though I had never imagined us to become allies I knew it would all fall apart if she learned the truth about my past. I prayed to all the Gods that she wouldn't. She was still approaching me and I raised my eyebrow in a silent question.

'What are you up too?'

Her answering smile was clear enough,

'Whatever I want.'

She sat down across from me and casually started eating her bread. The room had gone silent, everyone waiting, wondering what would happen next. I ignored them and faced Annabeth,

"Morning Annabeth," I said, the name unfamiliar on my tongue.

"Good Morning," she said back and looked me straight in the eyes with a ghost of a smile on her face, "Peter."

I almost choked on a piece of apple I had just bit off my apple. I looked up at her in surprise, I thought she might figure it out but not so soon. I didn't even know she cared.

"How did you…"

I blurred and she shrugged smugly, "looks like I'm always a step ahead of you."

"Don't count on it princess," I said, once I knew I wasn't going to choke and die because of an apple.

"Not going to ask me how I did it?"

She asked, still smiling. I looked at her more closely and noticed how one corner of her mouth went up a little higher than the other. I looked away quickly,

"Don't have to." I said shrugging, "You could have asked anyone and they'd give you the answer. Some more willingly than other I can imagine."

Annabeth laughed and I felt my own smile broaden.

"Yeah, that I can believe. But my sisters had my back."

She was already part of the family.

"Good to know," I said as I bit into my apple and I really meant it.

Just like I'd watched everyone enter I watched everyone leave. Soon the entire room emptied, Pene…No, Annabeth had gone with her siblings and her friends from the Athena cabin, and all the others had places to go until it was just me and Nico. I'd gotten up to leave when I noticed him sitting by himself, lost in thought. I approached him, not sure what to say.

"Hey Nico," I simply said, he looked up, his eyes shaded by his hair and hood.

"Hey." He said, and nothing more, I made to walk away when I remembered what Annabeth told had told me about Nico finding out some secret.

"Annabeth told me about how you figured something important out and you told me but I couldn't remember it."

Nico looked me dead in the eyes, I swear relief crossed his face but it was gone before I could be sure.

"I can't remember much….It just comes in flashes, I remember the feeling of finding something out important and the urgency of giving you that note but I can't picture anything other than feelings."

Nico said as he looked away, conversation closed.

"Okay, thanks, man," I said and walked off, a strange feeling that he was hiding something following me out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

"So why are we stopping at some tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean?" Annabeth asked after I told her about our next destination, Lipun. Being royalty and the smartass she was she naturally knew where that was and everything about it.

"I don't think there is any support we can expect from them."

"There something I need to check," I answered as I walked across the deck, Annabeth rolled her eyes as she walked beside me.

"That's not vague at all."

She said, giving me a pointed look, a small smile on her lips. I tried not to but I couldn't help it as the corners of my mouth betrayed me and twitched upwards. I kept walking, picking up the pace, trying not to let her distract me.

"I did a favour for a Lord there," I said truthfully, "And as flawless as our plan may be, I think it's time for him to repay it."

Annabeth thought for a moment, a frown forming as she did so.

"All right," she said after a moment. "I'm in."

I stopped and turned to face her, "In with what?" I asked curiously.

She looked to the heavens with a hopeless what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you expression on her face,

"I'm going to the shore with you, I'm guessing you wouldn't risk bringing the whole crew along, maybe a small party of 5 or 6 I should imagine, so I'm in. I'm coming with you."

I looked at her for a long second before making a decision.

"Yeah, of course, that would make sense but still I think you should stay aboard just in case."

Annabeth turned her stormy, almost pleading eyes to mine,

"I'm not going to be stuck here a day longer, I'm so sick of seeing the boring water all day and all night, never anything else. You may be used to it but I'm not."

I thought about it and wanted to object, to tell her it was for her own safety but she could come very handy for us. And it didn't look like she would appreciate my concerns anyway.

"Yes okay, you can come."

I said, giving in. She gave me a smug but grateful smile.

"Great, that settles that then."

She said and walked away, heading for her cabin, probably planning to get ready.

God, she was going to be the death of me.

I looked after her a second longer when I heard a cry from the lookout,

"LAND HOME!" Leo shouted, pointing in the direction of the island which nobody else could see yet. I climbed my way up to him and accepted the telescope he offered me.

"Hey, Captain," Leo greeted me, "Any thoughts?"

I peered out of the telescope, scanning the edges of the island that was barely in sight.

"We'll stop here and fly the rest of the way, a small party of 6 should be just fine. Call full halt and keep an eye out for any change."

"You got it Cap," Leo said, an impish grin spreading across his face.

"Thanks, Leo,"

"No problem," he said and swung down to the deck.

"PREPARE FOR FULL STOP, WE'RE FLYING IN," Leo ordered the crew and people scattered from where they were talking, playing cards and training, every one of them knowing their duty and what was expected of them.

"PIPER, REYNA, JASON, ANNABETH, NICO. WITH ME."

I shouted and the order repeated throughout the ship. I quickly paced down the deck as Annabeth come up beside me, matching my pace.

"How are we going in?" She asked, not facing me but staring straight ahead

"By flight," I explained as I walked down a few steps and down the righter corridor.

"We'll sail close enough to easily fly in and land on the shore so we can easily escape if necessary. Then we'll knock on the door and forcefully request a meeting with the Lord."

I continued talking as I passed the Aphrodite cabin, I heard Piper come out and walk in line next to Annabeth. I was about to open the stable doors when something occurred to me, I turned to piper,

"Hey Pipes, we'll need our weapons, I've got mine, take your dagger, make sure Jason has his and give Nico something. Annabeth will need her own dagger too. Or a staff, she's quite good with those."

Piper looked from me to Annabeth, a new respect in her eyes.

"You good with a staff?" She asked curiously,

Annabeth shrugged modestly, "You could say that."

"Come with me, we'll find you the perfect weapon, oh, and while we're at it, we might as well find you something to wear," Piper said and pulled her along as they left.

Annabeth looked down at her dirt covered boots, faded black pants and stained shirt,

"What's wrong with this? You are literally pirates."

Piper laughed,

"No offence," Annabeth added,

"None taken," Piper said, "If you're gonna roll with us, you might as well look the part." She said as she was about to walk away,

"Oh, and Percy." Piper said, turning to me, "Don't tell Jason but I really don't like tempest. He makes me nervous."

I laughed, "Sure thing Piper, I'll figure something out," I said and they walked away.

I watched them go, then opened the stable doors and walked in. Blackjack whinnied as he heard me approach. I walked up to his stall and ran my hand over his smooth hide.

I loved being here, loved the lack of noise and people, it was just me and the horses. I brushed him down, saddling him. I stroked Blackjack's forehead, running my hand over the white diamond, he whinnied and I dropped my mental shield, allowing him to speak to me through our connected minds.

"You okay, Boss," He asked me,

I stroked him again before answering, sending my thoughts right to his head.

"I think a girl has me wrapped right around her finger."

Blackjack whinnied and I could swear he was laughing at me,

"Hey, stop acting like there is nobody pulling your strings,"

Blackjack said nothing but looked at the beauty that was the very cause of those pulled strings. Lighting sensed his attention from her stable and looked up at him. I couldn't help but smile as I saw the love in their eyes, I swear it was almost human, maybe even beyond that.

Something rubbed against my leg affectional and I bent down to rub the small foul behind her ears. Blackjack and Lightning were one of the strongest and wildest pegasi there were. Lucia, the blue-eyed, brown-eyed beauty was going to be just like her parents. I entered Lighting's stable and was about to get her ready for the trip when I heard a voice from behind me.

"They told me I would find you here,"

I looked behind me and saw Annabeth leaning against the wall, a new dagger attached to her hip.

"C'mon, I wanna show you something," I said and turned back to Lightning and her family.

She came towards me and I gestured to Blackjack's stable.

"That's Blackjack,"

I said and he tilted his head, looking at her curiously.

"She's a friend," I told him. He looked at me and spoke to my mind,

"Is she the one who has you wrapped around her finger?"

I decided to ignore him. I swear he was laughing as he turned back to Annabeth, he looked her straight in the eyes and when she reached out her hand, he brushed his nose against her hand.

"There's someone I want you to meet," I told her, she looked at me curiously and I gestured her to look into the stable. She looked again, looked passed Blackjack and gasped. Lucia tried standing on unsteady legs and turned her big eyes to Annabeth, one blue and one brown meeting two greys. I looked at Annabeth as her eyes filled with light and wonder, in that split second I could imagine Annabeth as a little child, her eyes less intense, less worn and her shoulders so much lighter. It suddenly dawned on me how much younger she was then me but the weight she had to carry on those shoulders, the weight of a kingdom she was losing. I looked at her and wondered how old she was. 18? 20? Older? Younger? I couldn't quite tell. Annabeth crouched down and gently stroked Lucia's little head, Lucia whinnied in pleasure.

"That's Lucia," I said, "Literally meaning, Graceful light."

Annabeth scratched her behind the ears,

"Ciao Bella Lucia," she said,

I rolled my eyes and snorted,

"Of course you know Italian," I said under my breath, she snorted, she clearly had heard. She turned to face me, still crouching beside Lucia.

"Daughter of Athena, what'd you expect." She said smiling and stood up.

We stood inches apart, the stall door the only thing between us.

"Thank you for sharing that with me, I can tell how much it means to you."

I was taken by surprise, how had she noticed? Was she that good at reading people? I smirked,

"You're welcome, but tell me, how good at you at riding?"

All six of us stood on deck, our horses restless as we prepared for flight. Reyna stood to my right, barely keeping in Scipio's, her Pegasus, excitement. Piper stood to my left, looking much more confident as she mounted Lightning. The rest of them were fanned out around us.

"Let's go," I said and without another word, we took to the sky. Reyna whooped as we soared high above the clouds. I swear, she was more a daughter of Zeus than Thalia ever was. We flew at a steady speed over the clouds in a triangular formation, much like birds. The clouds rushed beneath us, looking soft like pillows. Annabeth laughed beside me, forgetting her fear of heights as the thrill of our speed and the wind in her hair overtook her. We flew on for a while before we started our descent, circling to the back of the island as to avoid the any lookout's attention. Nico's cloak of darkness fell over us, hiding us from anyone's view, I looked down at my hands and shivered as they seemed to flicker and turn grey as a ghost. More details of the island came into view as we kept descending, we landed at the edge of the forests as planned and the cloak fell away. As silently as possible we entered the forest, our horses not making any noise on the mossy ground. I looked around me, remembering the last time I had been here, it looked so different but yet still the same. The birds still tweeted as merely and the flowers bloomed as full as they used too.

We travelled under the cover of the trees, our breathing, occasional whisper or crack of a stick under our horses' hooves the only sound we made. We'd travelled for half a day when the sun started setting and disappearing behind the tall trees, the light breaking through their leaves and casting dark shadows over us. Looking up I could see stars start filling in the heavens. They were different stars to the ones I knew, not quite like the English or Greeks but not quite like the Egyptian or Turkish ones either. Unfamiliar but yet still comforting and a reminder of home. They were the same stars as the last time I was here when Travis was still alive and Captain when Luke was a trusted friend and Thalia, my sarcastic cousin was still mortal.

We build camp, knowing we wouldn't reach the castle by morning. We sat in silence around a small fire, small enough not to attract unwanted attention but big enough to cook our soup and keep us warm. Soon all my friends were asleep, Jason snoring softly and Reyna mumbling in her sleep but I couldn't. I kept looking at the stars, making patterns and forming constellations in my head. I sighed heavily, trying not to think too much when I heard a voice from beside me, whispering softly.

"Hey. Can't sleep?" Annabeth asked, I nodded, still lying on my back and looking up to the stars.

"Too many thoughts in my head. You?"

"Yeah, me too."

We lay next to each other in silence as I listened to her steady breathing that seemed to keep all my thoughts at bay, it soothes me. It soothes me knowing I wasn't the only one overthinking things and never being able to clear my head. After a while, she spoke again,

"How about we play a game? One thought for another. You tell me what you're thinking and I'll tell you what I'm thinking."

I nodded and shrugged even though I wasn't sure she could actually see.

"You start," I said and she thought for a moment before answering.

"I'm thinking I don't know how my life turned upside down in a single day, I used to have everything figured out, plans that were looked and thought about over and over again, no mistakes to find, no matter how you looked at it. But then everything went wrong, Alice disobeyed orders and your crew thought back and won with unimaginable odds. Rachel then also disobeyed me and found out or knew some secret she wouldn't tell me and took my throne. I've lost everything and all I'm doing is visiting a Lord for a favour or whatever. I should be doing more but I can't. I don't have an army to take back my own throne and no way to claim back my throne and prove Rachel a copy. And if I do I can never use the copy trick again. I've lost hope."

"Don't worry," I said, "We'll get your kingdom back but until then, it's going to take a while to find the resources we need to fight her. But when we do, we will make her pay for all the death and trust me, this visit is definitely worth it. It's only a matter of time before we're ready, I have a lot of favours and debts to call in. And if I have to, I'll build you an army of favours and depts"

Annabeth nodded, "Thank you, Percy, I appreciate your help. For fighting for my cause."

"You're welcome," I said and silence fell, I kept looking at the stars, wondering how much they'd changed since the beginning of time or not at all.

"What are you thinking?" She asked, I shrugged, having completely forgotten this part.

"I'm thinking about Travis, he was the last Captain before me, a long, long time ago. He came here looking for directions, I was only a boy, he raised me and was the only parent I'd ever know. He'd felt I was ready to go on my first mission, a very simple one but a mission nonetheless. I was so excited, I was only 12 at the time and aching to see the world for myself."

I stopped for a second, wondering why I was telling this and not caring.

"I'm thinking, I'm so happy I remember that even though it was such a long time ago but I'm also thinking it would be much easier and hurt so much less if I forgot it ever happened."

Annabeth didn't say anything but I felt her strong gaze upon me.

"What do you mean such a long time ago?" She asked softly, curiosity filling her voice. "What are you, 25?" She asked softly and confidently but almost like she was afraid of an answer she couldn't explain.

"No." Was all I said, "Guess again."

"28?" She said like she was afraid to offend me. I laughed quietly,

"No, I'll give you hint. I was born in 1316." I said and Annabeth abruptly sat up,

"Bullshit," She said and I laughed again,

"Nope," I said, popping the p.

"That makes you 80 years old. You can't be." She said in disbelief.

"I am," I answered, lifting myself to my elbows as she looked at me in disbelief.

"How, prove it."

I smiled,

"The first one I can but I obviously don't look 80,"

I could only see her silhouette and nose with the lack of light, the stars and moon the only thing lighting up the sky. I looked up into her shadowed eyes and told her the story, remembering how Travis had told me.

 _Flashback_

I was 8 years old and in Travis's office, playing with the little boat models, flying them high above the seas of the map below as Travis came in. He never got mad at me for playing in his office he left me to it sometimes but most of the time he just joined in.

"Hey what ya doing kiddo?" He asked as he rummaged through his desk.

"Playing," I said, continuing to fly the ships.

"Ships can't fly kid," Travis said, smiling.

"Not yet but soon, I'll fix that."

He laughed, "I'm sure you will,"

He said as he sat at his desk and started scribbling something.

"How old are you Captain?"

I asked because it was the first thing that popped into my head. And being 8, I said whatever came to mind immediately. He looked down at me like a father would to his son and said,

"Old, very old. You see, son, with everything, comes a great price, you'll learn that for yourself too one day. And the great price" he said as he stood up and walked over to me, sitting on the chair beside me, "for being Captain was a curse. A curse older than Kronos himself and no one could ever be cured of it or escape that destiny. You see, this ship is cursed that its Captain becomes immortal in age and body. He becomes ageless, I am 253 and still look like the day I became Captain, my body is made of steel, no spear can make me bleed and no bullet can pierce my skin. Except for a tiny spot," He showed me where and put my tiny hands on the small spot, it did indeed feel softer, not his usual gruff skin, much delicate.

"It's like your Achilles heel then,"

He laughed, coming out of him like a storm,

"Yeah exactly, looks like the curse came straight from the river Styx itself, good job kid." He said and ruffled my hair. I smiled,

"Thank you,"

I said for I was glad that after all he had taught me, there was something I could teach him or at least advise him.

 **Sorry I had so much going on I complelty forgot about this story. Check out my other Percy Jackson stories if interested.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Wow," said Annabeth once I finished my story, "So now you have the curse, doesn't that get lonely?"

I shrugged,

"Sometimes but there are always people around me, my crew, who are always loyal and faithful, the only lonely part is watching them age, change and die. That's the really lonely part. Watching the people I love die makes me wish I could too." I said, remembering all those I lost, then Annabeth did the last thing I expected.

She apologized,

"I'm, I'm," She stuttered and I knew the words that were coming and wish I knew how to stop her, she looked straight into my eyes, "I'm sorry. I never even said that. I'm sorry for all the lost lives of your crew and to have added to your loneliness. I'm sorry to have cost you Margaret, I...I didn't want for anyone to die. I wanted to use you, to have you help me, not slaughter you. I…"

"Stop."

She did.

"Please stop. Don't speak her name, it's too painful."

I looked away, suddenly ashamed of all I had said,

"And stop looking at me like that," she averted her gaze and pulled back, slipping away her hand that had been sliding closer and closer to her.

"Stop looking at me like you care, like you think I deserve more then I got because I don't. I killed hundreds and deserve to be dead too, I can't even kill myself, Travis never told me about that."

I said and lay down and turned over onto the hard mat. Annabeth sat for a second before laying down herself and said,

"Because he didn't know how too."

I didn't answer but I knew she was right.

She turned over and made herself comfortable and soon her breathing turned deep and steady as she fell asleep.

I laid awake and stared up at the sky, staying awake for a while longer till the sound of the trees and the moon soothed me to sleep too.

The next morning we set forth on our path once again, continuing to follow the path down the wood. I felt the tension between Annabeth and me, I wasn't the only one that noticed, Piper kept looking at us, an expression of worry crossing her face. No one spoke a word and that was just fine by me.

We continued on when Piper suddenly whispered,

"Wait. Listen." She said and we all fell silent, looking around us, searching for any threat as we kept walking with the same cautious steps.

"There behind the bush to my right." She said without pointing, not slowing or picking up her horse's pace. I looked over my shoulder and noticed it too, a slight russell in the bushes,

"It's probably just a rabbit," I said as I slightly tilted my head at Jason. He understood and turned around abruptly, jumped from his horse and slammed his hands together, sending a slight ripple through the forest, birds flew up in surprise and a curse came from the bushes as someone came tumbling down the slope of the hedgerow. Piper jumped of her own horse that stayed put as she ran over, slung the dagger out from the back of her boot and held it to his throat before he could escape,

"Who are you? Why are you following us? Who do you work for? The lord?"

He looked at her in slight alarm but didn't move another muscle.

"I don't work for anyone and certainly no pompous Lord. I stand alone, like you." He said, nodding his head to all of us, Piper growled,

"Don't presume to know us, who are you."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

Just as he was about to speak another man landed before me, having jumped down from a tree, I ran towards him with my drawn sword still astride Blackjack,

"WATCH OUT, PIPER" I shouted, she whipped her head towards me, blade still on the man's throat as I knocked the newcomer down, striking his knees. Just as I did another man came in on horseback and attacked Annabeth with a dagger, she reacted fast, grabbing her own dagger, spinning around his attack in her saddle and stabbing his back. He fell to the ground in pain as four others came towards her on horseback and on foot, swinging long swords. I had my own problems as two more attacked me on foot. I swung and slashed my sword at them as Annabeth reared her horse, trampling two men as two more came. She grabbed a stick from around her belt as thrust it out, point to the floor, suddenly the stick grew out to a meter long. She spun it over her head and suddenly brought it back into a man's chest, sending him flying off his horse as she spun the staff into another's head. She readied herself for the next attack when suddenly an arrow came out of nowhere, shooting right into Annabeth's left shoulder, she screamed in pain,

"Motherfucker!" she shouted, falling off her horse. I slid of Blackjack and ran over to help her,

"REYNA. COVER ME," I shouted over my shoulder as I kneeled down beside her. Reyna obeyed and stayed within a meter of us as more men came, each armed with a longbow and cutting knives. I briefly saw Nico grabbing his own short bow and shooting them down from where they hid and shot from the trees above. I looked at Annabeth's shoulder, the arrow hadn't gone all the way through, only halfway, she started whimpering in pain when suddenly her eyes widened in shock. I turned as another arrow came whizzing towards me, I caught it with my left hand as another harmlessly bounced off my chest. I looked up at the shooter and smirked, he looked back at me in alarm before sprinted off into the woods after witnessing the witchcraft of my unbreakable skin. I turned back to Annabeth she looked up at me in horror and wonder after witnessing just how powerful I was, a new respect in her eyes.

"Okay, this is going to hurt but I need you to sit as still as you can, don't move. I'm going to break off the end then take out the rest in one piece, okay? But first I need to check if the tip hit bone or no, okay?"

Annabeth nodded and whimpered as I knelt behind her and softly grabbed the arrow where it was logged in her shoulder and snapped off the biggest part. She shouted in pain as I touched it, I winced at the sound and I examined the wound, pulling away the cloth over her shoulder. The arrow was only two cm in and I signed in relief, it hadn't gone through or into the bone, I whispered loud enough so she could hear.

"Ready?" She nodded, I gripped the arrow tighter, "Okay, Three….." I started and pulled, pulling the arrow right out of her shoulder, she screamed and grabbed my knee, squeezing hard before becoming quite again,

"It's okay." I whispered, holding her against me, "It's okay, it's okay now." I said as I tore off a part of my own shirt, wetted it with water from my flask, she winced but didn't object as I wrapped it tightly around her shoulder. The cloth already turning red,

"That'll stop the infection and blood loss," I sighed and she smiled,

"Yeah. I know."

I scoffed and rose to my feet, helping her lift herself enough to get off the ground and get comfortable on a log.

Looking around I noticed my crew had dealt with the attackers, they were all either dead, severely wounded or knocked out,

"Who were they?"

I asked, approaching one of their bodies, trying to identify any armour or indication of rank. Anything really.

Jason came up beside me, a scrap of something in his hand,

"We don't know, this is all we found." He said, handing me a scrap of cloth with an eagle embroidered on it,

"Ever seen it before."

He asked me and I shook my head, Jason pursed his lips,

"Hey Annabeth," I said and she looked up from where she was resting on a log,

"Yeah,"

"Ever seen this before?" I asked as I threw the scrap into her lap. She studied it, turning it around in every direction and looking at closely.

"Never seen it before, maybe some Klepht cult or group."

"Klepht?"

"Yeah, Klepht or Highwaymen, they're robbers either way. Whatever you wanna call them. I'll look into it once we get back to ship."

"Great," I said, "It's probably nothing, just some rogue soldiers or as you said, robbers. But thanks anyway."

Annabeth nodded and didn't get up as we buried the dead, tended the wounded and leaving the others, stripping them all of their weapons and made a fire for food.

"Hey," I said, handing her a bowl of warm soup, "How's your shoulder,"

She shrugged, then cursed herself for doing so.

"It's okay, I'm just not sure about walking or riding."

"Here," I said and helped her up, "Put your weight on me," I offered and she nodded, wincing as I slung her right arm over my shoulder, supporting her weight. She moved slowly but we were moving.

We soon continued our journey with Annabeth sitting with Piper in the saddle, her right arm holding on to Piper's waist, keeping her left as still as possible, her horse tied to Blackjack. By midday, we reached the last hill of our journey and the Lord's castle came into view.

"Hate nobility and their pompous castles."

"Yep, that's us," said Annabeth, no offence or hurt in her voice. Piper sniggered,

"Not in those clothes," She said, "You're a Goddamn pirate now."

Annabeth looked at Piper and smiled as we tied up our horses to a bunch of trees, hidden from the castle's sight. As Annabeth spoke to Piper I looked at her clothes. She really did look like a pirate, in her high brown boots, belt with dagger, a simple white tucked in shirt with black pants and her hair tied up with a scrap of cloth. The only indication of her background the way she held herself, head held and jaw set. she had a confidence that took Piper years to obtain by walking through fire and coming out on the other end over and over again.

"Let's go," I said, taking my eyes off the familiar clothes and pirate wear. Clothes that shouldn't fit a prideful queen as well as they did. We continued down the hill, taking a path straight to the castle's drawbridge. We reached the drawbridge where two guards were waiting for us, I smirked as I approached the guards, their weapons were drawn and raised. I definitely disliked royalty but this was going to be fun.

"HALT.," the two guards said simultaneously, I wonder how long it took to learn to do that or did they just whisper a countdown to each other or what?

I walked right up to them, their spears pointed at my chest at a centimetres distance.

"Who are you and what's your business here?" The guard on the left demanded.

"I here to meet with the king," I said, and the guard snorted,

"Yeah right, and I'm here for fun, why would his Lordship ever want to see you?"

I smiled,

"How about you tell his Lordship that the Captain of 'The Sniper' is here to call in a favour."

As soon as I mentioned who I was their smirks fell, oh, they'd heard of me and 'The Sniper' alright. They looked down at my wrist, looking for the tattoo that would confirm whether I was lying, the mark of the Captain. They paled as they both saw what they were afraid to find, looked like saying 'Halt' wasn't the only thing they could do simultaneously. They stared at the tattoo of a ships wheel and anchor under it, octopus tentacles wrapped around them. I coughed and they both jumped in surprise,

"Are you going to let us in or what?"

They nodded and one knocked twice and listened for the two knocks back before they both pulled the gigantic loops of the door handle, opening the gates wide.

We walked through the gates, the two guards escorting us as we looked around, it all looked the same as when I'd last left it, only this time the castle walls were not blow apart lying in rubble but towering high with guards patrolling from on high. There weren't many people around, only guards on patrol and a few nobles of sorts, family of the Lord probably.

"Since you're so old, who's to say this Lord is still alive?"

Annabeth said from beside me.

"He won't be," I said softly, "He was in his thirties when I was last here but his son will be, I think."

"Do you think his son will repay his father's debt?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, "He wasn't there when it all went down but I think the old adviser might still be alive and serve as our witness. We have the contract and so should they."

"Hope this works," Annabeth said hopefully,

"Yeah, me too," I responded and remained quiet.


	8. Chapter 8

We reached a set of doors and waited as the guard knocked twice and a little window slid open, a man looking out. The two exchanged a few words,

"Who are they? What's their business?"

"It's the Captain of the Sniper, says he needs to see the Lord."

"No way, the one and only sailor and plunderer of the 7 seas, the captain who wields the Marks of The Underworld, the…"

"Yes," The guard interrupted him, "That one,"

"Wow," He said and slid the window shut and a moment later the doors opened.

The interior looked just like any other Lord's castle, a huge hall with hard stone walls and floor and three suits of armour set on either side of the hall, about a meter space between them. Two staircases spiralled up, one on both sides of the wall on the far end of the hall. The hall was completely empty except for the huge fireplace set against the wall and a chandelier dangling from the high ceiling. The doors closed behind us, two guards standing by the exit, both gawking at us in owe. A man in fancy clothes but not too expensive ones, a butler or head of servants obviously with a face a little like a mouse's, approached us and spoke directly to me, ignoring the others.

"Would you like to meet with the Lord now or get refreshments first and dine with him later?"

I wanted to get this over and done with but Annabeth's shoulder came to mind, perhaps it would be best if we stayed for a bit.

"We'll have two of your best rooms please, 3 beds each and send up your best healer and some refreshments like wine and fruit would be great thank you."

The man blinked in surprise, going over his list of offers and not remembering ever offering a room.

"I'm dreadfully sorry but."

"Now." I said, making him jump, "Please."

He nodded and ran off, running up the stairs leaving us standing alone in the hall.

"Thank you,"

Annabeth muttered softly to me and I nodded, not facing her.

Soon a pretty woman in a white maid's dress with a black apron and pinned up hair entered the hall and spoke softly. Addressing me with her head bowed, not looking any of us in the eyes.

"Would you please follow me to your temporary chambers, your food and the healer will be there shortly."

I nodded to her in gratitude and followed her up the spiralling staircase on the left. The steps too were made of stone, covered with a soft red carpet, we climbed up one flight of stairs with plenty of windows along the way to light up the narrow space, even when the sun had already started to set. After the first flight of stairs, we went down a wide corridor decorated with portraits of nobility, probably family of the Lord. I recognized one as the Lord I had met, his date of death written as only 9 years ago. Pity.

We passed a maid who was lighting torches along the hall, clearly, this part of the castle wasn't in use very often, not many guests then. We kept going, passing more maids, paintings and suits of armour before stopping at a wooden door, suddenly another maid appeared beside me and I almost jumped in surprise, having not heard her coming. She'd probably come from a servant's passage or something but still, spooky.

"Who will be sleeping here?" She asked motioning to the door, not hanging her head like the other maid had. "The Captain and the blonde?"

She asked, catching me by surprise again. I looked at Annabeth whose face has turned scarlet, mine was probably the same. In the corner of my eye I cought Jason and Nico holding back wales of laughter.

"Umm…..No." I said after a moment, "We need two rooms, one for the ladies and one for us," I said, tilting my head towards Jason and Nico.

Realizing her mistake she tilted her head, avoiding eye contact.

"My apologies Captain, come this way ladies."

She said, walking further down the hall and opening another door a couple of meters away. She held the door open as Annabeth, Piper and Reyna went in and she followed them in, closing the door behind her. The other maid sighed,

"Sorry about that, she's new." She said and opened the door to our room, I shrugged off the awkwardness and entered, looking around me. It was a big room, three beds fitting comfortably inside, along with a wardrobe, a small fireplace and a round table. There were two huge windows on the far side of the room, looking out to the edge of the island and the sea beyond it. A small red couch put between them.

"Thank you," I said to the maid once she finished lighting all of the candles.

You're welcome," She said, curtsied and left just as she reached the door she stopped and turned back to us,

"Would any of you like a bath?"

I looked at Jason and Nico who both shrugged in a not-a-bad-idea kinda way.

"Yes," I said, turning back to the maid, "We'll have one each please, as soon as possible."

"Will you need assistance bathing?"

"No thank you," I said quickly and she nodded, curtsied and left, closing the door behind her. As soon as it closed Nico plopped down on one of bed closest to the door on the right by the bathroom and Jason the one opposite to him on the left side of the door. I took the one closest to the window beside Jason, a fireplace the only thing between us.

"Well, the maid picked up what's going on between you and Annabeth quickly, she knew it before you did."

Jason said, wiggling his eyebrows,

"Everyone will know it before Percy here does," Nico added. And being the 80-year-old mature Captain of the most feared crew on the planet I threw a pillow at each of their heads.

"Shut up, there's nothing going on between us,"

"Yeah. Sure,"

"Told you so,"

"I bet a 100 gold pieces Blackjack will know before he does,"

They went on backwards and forwards as I removed my weapons, I thought of what to do next. We had a plan and a backup plan but the backup plan for the backup plan wasn't great.

After about half an hour of talking, cleaning our weapons, playing cards that, to everyone's surprise, Nico found in his pockets there was a knock on the door.

"C'mon in," I said as the claimed my prize after the fifth victory in a row. Three maids walked in, the first carrying a tray of fruits and nuts, the second a tray of tankards and glasses and a jug of beer and another of wine, the third was carrying two large jugs with steaming water. The first two placed the trays on the table amongst the cards and piles of coins, daggers, and all sorts of stuff we found in our pockets to bet with.

"Who will be going first?"

Asked the third one, the same one who'd presented us with the room.

"I will," I said, she nodded and one of the other maids opened the bathroom door for her. I noticed they all wore the same uniform, the same black dresses with white aprons and pinned up hair. The maid poured the content from the jugs into the huge bath. I watched from the doorway as steam started filling the room.

"It's very hot Sir, it might be best if you waited a bit."

"I'll be okay,"

She nodded and finished pouring in the water, she curtsied and walked past me into the main room. I closed the door behind her and undressed, the white-tiled room was small, nothing more than a bath inside it. I looked at my reflection in the water and it was the same face that had been staring back at me for 63 years. Sometimes I hated that face. I slowly put my foot into the water as steam billowed from it, I didn't feel the scorching heat other would have, just a little tingle. I lowered myself in the bath, my Achilles heel aching a little and I moaned a little, glad for a hot bath after the last few days. My only problem was that it wasn't as relaxing as I had hoped it would be, the water gave me too much power.

I surrendered myself to the water completely, one of the few times I would ever do so. I let it swirl and move around me as it pleased.

I didn't often allow myself to think freely, to think back to the past or think of things I probably shouldn't. But now I did. I pulled my head back until it was completely underwater, no sound apart from the rushing of the water that surrounded me. I thought of Travis's lessons and being my father, I thought of my mom who I never got the chance to meet, I thought of Margaret and her sacrifices, I thought of my crew, dead and alive. I thought of Selena and her lost future, I thought of Nico and the pains of his past that he carried around him even though he was so young. I thought of Annabeth and how she might just be saving me, I thought of Travis's death and all it made me, I thought of everything, everything that ever happened because of me. All the love, pain, joy and hate. I tried excepting it all as part of me but I couldn't, I was two people, one who bore all the memories and was a monster and the other who smiled and forgot who he was and what he'd done.

I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breathe. The water was coming in, drowning me. I tried lifting my head but I couldn't, I tried pulling myself up but I wasn't in the tub anymore, I was in a well, in an ocean, in a hole, everything around me fell away, everything apart from water. Everything was water, I was water, I was drowning, drowning in myself. How can a son of Poseidon drown? Suddenly a voice called out to me from the water, from around me and from inside me. It was Annabeth's voice, begging me to swim, no it wasn't. It was Margaret's voice, No, it was Annabeth's. No. It was both of their voices, blending and breaking into one, telling me to swim, to fight, to breathe.

"Breath," Annabeth said, softly but urgently.

Suddenly I could lift my head, I could lift my head and I was no longer water, I was no longer surrounded by it or drowning. I sat up fast, my head breaking free from the water and gasped for breath, my chest burning and heart about to explode. A son of Poseidon, afraid of drowning. A pirate afraid of water. I stayed in the water until my breath returned to normal then I got out, shaking off the feeling of whatever panic attack I just had. I really was pathetic. It was just a panic attack, it was just a panic attack, I repeated the words to myself as I dried myself off and wrapped the towel around my waist, not wanting to put on my dirty attire just yet. I left the bathroom and closed the door behind me, I was so lost in thought I didn't realise who was in the room till I Jason spoke,

"Hey Percy," Said and I looked up, snapping free from my mind only to find that all the girls were in the room. They were all seated around the table, a handful of cards in each of their hands as they played against Nico and Jason. Reyna sat with her back to me and didn't turn around, Piper, however, noticed me immediately, and sniggered causing Annabeth to look up. I looked her straight in the eye when she did, only she wasn't looking at my eyes, she examined me from head to toe, not turning away like she was embarrassed or ashamed, she just looked at me her eyes trailing up until they reached my eyes. She smiled softly but without any emotions before returning to the game a second later. Leaving me to wonder what she was thinking. I looked to Jason, the one most probably responsible for this odd coincidence, he wiggled his eyebrows at me and I sighed, turned around and returned to the bathroom.

An hour later we were all washed and dressed back into our dirty clothes, Annabeth's shoulder already bandaged. We sat around the table playing poker and occasionally picking food from the tray when there was a knock on the door,

"C'mon in," I said and a maid walked in.

"Sorry Sirs," She said with a slight French accent, "I thought the ladies might be here, dinner will be in an hour et mon Dieu they are not ready yet. They're suits and dresses ready for all of you." She motioned the girls to follow her out of the room. They all rose from their seat, Annabeth winched slightly, clutching her shoulder.

"I've always wanted to see you in a dress Perc," said Jason, "Maybe today's my lucky day."

"Likeways," I said and packed up the cards. Since the girls joined I'd won quite fewer victories than before. Soon a maid indeed brought 3 suits. She was a little worried the suits would be too small and we couldn't put them on ourselves but we told her we'd manage.

Soon we were all ready and we met the girls in the corridor, my eyes immediately snagged to Annabeth. She looked so amazing, her dress was blue like the sky but yet a little lighter, It was tight around her chest but loosened as it reached her waist, pooling beautifully at her feet. The dress had no straps or sleeves but the collar went all the way up to around her neck showing off how tall she was. Jason approached Piper and took her arm, I followed his example and took Annabeth's arm,

"You look amazing Annabeth," I whispered to her truthfully as we walked down the hall. She smiled,

"Thank you, you don't look too bad yourself," she responded. "The maid said this was something between Sky Blue and Baby Blue, whatever that means." She said as she pulled on the fabric of her dress.

"Baby Blue?" I asked,

"I've never heard of that in my life," She said laughing softly,

"Don't look at me," I said in fake alarm, "I wouldn't know,"

Annabeth laughed again, loud and full of joy,

"Of course you wouldn't, seaweed brain,"

"Well, you didn't either, smart ass." I shot back at her, she smiled at me and it was the first time she truly smiled at me, not a half smile or a smirk or a passing smile but a full, meaning full, true smile. And I smiled back, as full and meaningful as hers. It suddenly occurred to me how beautiful she was, she'd always been pretty but now… She didn't have her usual hard or worn expression on her face or blood crusted clothes. She was glowing, full of joy and light I'd never seen before and in an amazing dress with curls tumbling neatly down her back and gold on her eyes bringing out the grey in her eyes, she really was beautiful.

We descended the same stairs we'd come up on but this time, instead of going back into the hall we took a different corridor, leading us to a room with a massive fireplace, more stone walls with one of them covered in a massive tapestry of angles looking down on the island and its castle. A massive table was set in the middle of the room, it was very long and could probably fit at least twenty people but now it was set for 8. A big chair was set at the head of the table, decorated with elaborate carvings and designs, the seat of the Lord. And naturally, the Lord himself was nowhere to be seen. I snorted, of course, he wanted to play this game, dressing us all up and then making us wait for his him. But I could play this game too and had been playing it for longer than he had been alive. I took Annabeth's hand in mine, lifting it high, she used her other hand to pick up her dress as we made our way towards the table. Everyone was looking at us, every servant and my crew. I then did something that made every servant clueless of what to do or how to react other than stare at us in surprise. I led her to the head of the table and stood beside the Lord's chair to the left, still holding her hand as she descended into the chair, head held high and radiating power, looking like the badass queen she undoubtedly was. I only let go of her hand once she lifted her hand from mine and got comfortable, I took the seat left from her and the others followed my example. None of my crew batting an eyelid at the statement I'd just made and taking a seat. Jason pulled out the chair next to Annabeth and opposite me and offered Piper. She took it and he pushed her chair in and took a seat to her right. Nico did the same for Reyna and we were all seated. The servants had no idea what to do so they simply came round with wine, pouring it into the glasses set before us and we didn't complain.

We drank merely and talked amongst ourselves, we talked about whatever came to mind, from the latest gossip to what hilarious story we'd heard about our crew and the ship. We were laughing when suddenly the double doors of the dining room slammed open, instantly silencing us. The Lord then came in, his footsteps echoing from the wooden floor the only sound in the room, he was dressed in all black, a long cloak trailing behind him over the ground.

The Lord was ready for business.


End file.
